Indian Oil calls for creative, media pitch

The size of the business is around Rs 120 crore. Eight agencies have been invited for the media pitch, while five agencies (including incumbents Rediffusion and Grey Worldwide) have pitched for the creative duties

Indian Oil & #BANNER1 & # Corporation has called for a creative and media pitch. While the creative pitch is well under way, the review for the media duties is still to happen.

Indian Oil's creative duties are handled currently by two agencies, Rediffusion DY&R and Grey Worldwide. Rediff handles almost 90 per cent of the business, while Grey Worldwide works on the rest. It is learnt that these two roster agencies are also in the fray to retain the business. Other agencies that have participated in the creative pitch are McCann Erickson, FCB Ulka (soon to be officially Draft FCB) and RK Swamy/BBDO.

The ad spends for the coming year are pegged at around Rs 120 crore; of this, 60 per cent will be given over to above-the-line media (television, press, radio and outdoor), and the remaining 40 per cent to below-the-line activities, such as on-ground events, retail activation and sales promotions.

Commenting on the pitch, N Srikumar, general manager, branding and corporate communications, Indian Oil Corporation, tells agencyfaqs!, "We are planning to roll out some new products in the market, such as our Xtra Rewards Cash Loyalty Programme. This gave rise to the need to review our agencies." In any case, Indian Oil generally reviews its agencies every two-three years, so in that sense, too, the timing was perfect.

While the creative pitch is in process, the media pitch process is yet to start. TME (The Media Edge, Rediff's media entity) was the AoR for Indian Oil till now. Besides TME, which will try to retain the business, seven other agencies have been invited to pitch for the media duties. Some of the media agencies expected to participate in the pitch are Lodestar Universal, ZenithOptimedia and Madison Media.

It is possible that several agencies may be empanelled for both the creative and media duties, depending on the requirement.

For the record, Indian Oil Corporation was formed in 1964 through the merger of the Indian Oil Company (established in 1959) and Indian Refineries (established in 1958). Its brands include Servo, Indane LPGas, Indian Oil Aviation, Autogas, Xtra Premium, Xtra Mile Super Diesel, Xtra Power and Xtra Care. Indian Oil is also 153rd on the prestigious Fortune Global 500 list of companies. It is the 21st largest petroleum company in the world.